Wisdom sometimes cames with age

The second company providing end to end encrypted email service has shut down rather than submit to the NSA bullying. The NSA is a US MILITARY operation and it continually ignores the US Constitution and congressional limitations. The secret court set up, apparently, to rubber stamp this coup has a near 100% record of approving all NSA etc. requests.

The economic fall out of this attempted military take over of the Internet will be huge — in the BILLIONS of dollars. Estimates range from $25 -$35 BILLION. Many of our brightest minds could leave this country.

What is happening is extremely serious — this is a coup and it is apparent that a figure head has been installed in the white house. Not an innocent figure head but a very evil man who has blood on his hands.

Glenn Greenwald writes:

A Texas-based encrypted email service recently revealed to be used byEdward Snowden – Lavabit – announced yesterday it was shutting itself down in order to avoid complying with what it perceives as unjust secret US court orders to provide government access to its users’ content. “After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations,” the company’s founder, Ladar Levinson, wrote in a statement to users posted on the front page of its website. He said the US directive forced on his company “a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit.” He chose the latter.

The second company,Silent Circle, shut down today expecting to be targeted by the US military’s NSA battle campaign.

The warning from these firms is to avoid US based secure email services. Many in the Computer Technology Services Industry have been warning about USG intrusion for years. Microsoft denies that Windows 7 was built with help by NSA to include a “back door” for easy access by NSA. From the 2009 article:

On Monday, Richard Schaeffer, the NSA’s information assurance director, told the Senate’s Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security that the agency had partnered with the developer during the creation of Windows 7 “to enhance Microsoft’s operating system security guide.”

Echoing earlier concerns, Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronics Privacy Information Center (EPIC), questioned the wisdom of letting the NSA participate in OS development. “The key problem is that NSA has a dual mission, COMPUSEC, computer security, now called cyber security, and SIGINT, signals intelligence, in other words surveillance,” Rotenberg said in an e-mail.

Yesterday, he raised the issue, which isn’t new, of whether the NSA pressures companies like Microsoft to craft so-called “backdoors” into their code that would let the agency track users and intercept users’ communications. Rotenberg called it an “obvious concern,” and added that it might be difficult for major software makers to turn down NSA “suggestions” because the U.S. federal government is an important customer.

However few computer Techs believed Microsoft’s denial and continued to research the matter. It now seems that NSA had installed a backdoor in the Microsoft operating systems in 1999 — was was BEFORE the 9/11 2001 used to excuse NSA spying on Americans.

According to Fernandez of Cryptonym, the result of having the secret key inside your Windows operating system “is that it is tremendously easier for the NSA to load unauthorized security services on all copies of Microsoft Windows, and once these security services are loaded, they can effectively compromise your entire operating system“. The NSA key is contained inside all versions of Windows from Windows 95 OSR2 onwards.

This means that the spying on Americans began during the Clinton Administration — which will eventually give us the beginning date of this creeping, oozing coup which seems to be more obvious on a daily basis.

Update:

Many “news” reporters don’t understand much at all about the Internet or NSA spying — they are merely mouthpieces for Government propaganda. For those interested in real news about the internet and what NSA spying on all Americans really means check out:

Plus there are many blogs which work to inform you about your options.

FireDogLake.com has an article about the shut down of the two American based secure/encrypted email services. Check out the comment section about what you can do to try to keep your email secure. There are times when financial data and other private data needs to be encrypted, and the vast majority use encrypted files and email to protect sensitive technical and financial data, but since this is a Post Constitutional era — we need to be aware that computer programmers and others techies are working on the problem. Ironic that the Fascist pigs who are responsible for the spying are calling anyone who complains — made up names of the bad guys. The Fascists have no defense for whole sale spying of Americans so they are resorting to slander and defamation.

This coup is happening in double fast time — the puppets in the pocket have exposed themselves by their voting patterns and statements in defense of NSA spying on Americans. Now anyone who dares to mention the fact of the wide violations of the US Constitution by NSA and other USG agencies is called a “threat”.

Update #2

Here is one of the problems — why should everyone be a computer expert? Most people do well enough — they can find the on button for their computer and can sort of navigate the Internet. Many (most) people need a book to translate into basic English, “computers for dummies” . I’ve helped countless retired expats install anti virus software and helped them understand how to run the programs on a weekly basis as well as how to update their microsoft operating systems. That was against the all too common malware etc and “independent” hackers. The poor dears who had to learn all this computer defensive tactics merely wanted an online connection to stay in touch with their family and friends back in the states. Many also had to learn how to bank online and how to keep their financial information secure from “hackers”. Now it turn out that the worst hacker happens to be the USG. This really sucks.

Thanks for the advice but I just don’t have the wherewithall (read computer smarts) to do what you suggest. In fact, I’m not even quite sure I understand it.

The above was a response to this:

Don’t use M$oft products. For that matter, don’t use Apple products.

Install and use a Unix or linux product, often simpler and easier than installing either of the above. Hundreds to choose from, most for free, and dozens of available browsers: including near complete compatibility with the popular “Office” products.

This is about Michael Hayden, former NSA director’s slander of those of us who respect the US Constitution and our 4th Amendment rights.

Well that makes it clear why the Bush and now the Obama Administrations have been targeting journalists and transparency activists – in their mind demanding answers from the government is the same as blowing up a building. Which begs the question. Who is a greater threat to America’s freedom – Al Qaeda or people like Hayden who do not believe in the Constitution or American values?

The firedoglake link above makes the mistake that most Americans probably do — thinking that the widespread spying began after 9/11 — when we now know that the spying really started long before 9/11 2001.